By Michael Newman

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This week, I will take a different road at looking behind the ILXCTF.com Rankings. The week two rankings are the roughest and the longest to figure out. You have a huge meet like the First to the Finish Invitational and add in ACT testing that removes some of the top runners from their teams.

It usually takes me anywhere from four to five hours to do all six rankings charts. This weekend it took seven to eight hours starting late Sunday night and then finishing late Monday night.

First, you can write to me about the rankings but don’t lobby like that especially if you are a parent. I do receive e-mails from coaches but they let me know if someone is out or testing etc. Second, I use meet placing from that week, speed ratings from Illinois XC Speed Ratings, splits on the individual team, and plain and simple common sense. I get to see a bunch of teams during the year. I have a good sense for a team. Third, I always question myself. I’ll look at a pad after I finish and use the eye test on teams. I’ll look at a team. Do they deserve to be in the top 25? Do they deserve to drop out? Driving back from Peoria, I have my mind set on some of the teams that I saw. It puts me in position when I finally get to researching the teams.

The most important thing: the only rankings that count is at the end of the year. Yes, it is nice to get some kind recognition. But it counts the most at the end of the year. Most kids know this. Most coaches do as well. I wish parents would feel the same way as their kids.

Here is a look at some of the Boys teams for this week.

Class 3A

Peoria – When I found out that top ranked Downers Grove North had won, it was a no brainer that they would be the top team in 3A. They were missing Jacob Ridderhoff to ACT’s and #2 runner Matt Moravec was held out of this race. Jack Roberts stepping up was huge as their top runner. The 17 second split on the first three was an impact. Look where their two missing runners would land. They do not race again as a team until October 4 under the lights at Naperville. Having not run as a full team may affect them in the national rankings. But, it does not matter to this team who is lazar focused.

#5 Hinsdale Central was impressive. They had a 30 second split from four to five the week before on their home course. On Saturday, it was 31 seconds on their top five. It was 21 seconds from their top two to the pack that had only a four second span on the three. Downers Grove South had three runners in the top 16 but a split of 48 seconds from three to four. It pushed them up two spots to #8.

Two teams from this meet entered the top 25. Batavia did not have their best race to open the year at St. Charles but bounced back on Saturday. The key to the Bulldogs success was having a 23 second split on their top four led by the 26^th place finish by Adam Kennedy. What could hurt them in the future is that their split from that pack to fifth runner Sean Adams was 28 seconds. Something that will need to be worked on for #13 Batavia.

#18 St. Ignatius College Prep scored a perfect 15 in their opening meet of the season. They followed that up with a seventh-place finish behind Michael Obroin’s second-place run. Ignore the split on five, but the 38 second split from two to five looks pretty good.

Dundee-Crown moved up two spots despite not having their top runner Anthony Hurgoi in the lineup and finishing 15^th overall. I looked at where Hurgoi was the week before and slotted him into that spot. The Chargers had a 42 second split on their first four and 16 seconds from two to four. It almost bettered their run the week before at Crystal Lake South. That is why they stayed in the rankings. #20 Glenbard West dropped eight spots after finishing tenth. They were missing their #5 runner Cameron Benes in this race. If he was slotted in, he would have been anywhere from five to six. West had a good 1-2 performance from Stephen Moody (13^th) and Rory Cavan (14^th), but the 60 second split from two to three necessitated the move.

Springfield – I was looking to see how Mundelein would fare against 2A top ranked Mahomet-Seymour. The answer was a win 29-49. There are no “superstars” on this team but a good group of runners that loves to pack it up. Only 17 seconds separated the first five for Mundelein. Remember this: Ryan Hodge and Mathias Powell for Mahomet ran 14:55 at Detweiller Park at the end of July. Mundelein’s Michael Parduhn was ahead of them by seven seconds. They are at Warren this week. Interesting to see how they run at Palatine in two weeks.

Lake Park – Timing was an issue in this meet as not all the varsity boys’ runners did not get final times. Huntley did and they jumped up to #12 led by the individual win by Jadon Conroy. Their split on five was 49 seconds, but their first four runners within 24 seconds of each other was a motivator for me. St. Charles East also bounced back from a sub-par race a week ago and looked strong in finishing behind Huntley. The Saints entered at #14 led by Cole Adesso’s fourth-place finish. They were back to their pack running with 43 seconds separating their top five.

Joliet – In this case instead of making assumptions, I look at some of the work that has been done so far this season. This was York’s first race of the season and they did it short-handed without top five runners Charlie Kern and Jackson Bode. Bode has raced once this season finishing close to York’s top runners on Saturday Sean MacGregor and Tim Stevenson. Kern has not raced yet this season. York finished second only two points behind #10 Plainfield South as the Cougars had a 39 second five-runner split on individual winner Christian Knowlton. York had a four-runner split of only 16 seconds. Put Bode in that mix and you have five runners that close together. With no data on Kern during the regular season, I was not going to assume at this point. York’s performance (figuring Bode in there) was equal to Hinsdale Central and Wheaton-Warrenville South but behind Mundelein. It would be silly to keep them 2-3 right now. They are sixth for right now. We will get a better idea of this York team in the next two weeks.

Wauconda – We know how good Wheaton-Warrenville South is. We found out that Wheaton North is not that bad either. The #4 Tigers maintained their rankings spot winning this invitational with 38 points. Sean Maison led three runners in the top five with a 2.4 second split. Their four-runner split grew to 18 seconds. Their overall split in the race was 56 seconds. If you put their top runner from the Frosh/Soph race David Zeller, the split shrinks to 38 seconds. 56 seconds on five could be tough to get a trophy. A split under 38 seconds puts them in the running for a trophy. Wheaton North backed up their performance in Iowa with a better one in Wauconda. The Falcons were only 14 points behind their DVC rival with only a 21 second split on their top five.

Class 2A

With Mahomet-Seymour finishing second at Springfield and Normal University winning in Peoria, you would think that it was a time for a switch at the top of 2A. Not so fast. The two teams will face off Saturday at the Richard Spring Invitational. There might be a change next week.

Springfield – Despite their second-place finish behind Mundelein, top ranked Mahomet-Seymour still looks like the team to beat even though last Saturday’s race was not their best one in the last two years. The Bulldogs have the presence up front with Ryan Hodge and Mathias Hodge running together. Riley Fortune is getting closer now only eight seconds behind the duo. The gap between three and four was 30 seconds with an overall split of 63 seconds.

Chatham-Glenwood finished third in this meet but did not have Dathan & Drey Maton in their lineup. Cooper Peterson was the top runner but was right with Mahomet’s #4 runner Bryson Peterson. The Maton’s in their first race were nine and two seconds ahead of Peterson. The split on Peterson and the next two runners was only 10 seconds. Watch for this team in the coming weeks if they can keep splits like that.

Peoria – Four teams ranked in the top ten were in this meet. Four other schools (Waterloo, Hampshire, Burlington Central, and Vernon Hills) entered the top 25 after finishing in the first 12. Our emphasis is looking at those top finishing teams.

#2 Normal University did not run a dominating race on Saturday. They did start in the back and moved their way towards the front to give themselves the win. Their split on five was 62 seconds close to what Mahomet had in Springfield. The same tendencies show for the Pioneers. They have a good front runner with Jared Shuckman (8^th overall). The split on their first three was a respectable 30 seconds. From three to four, it was 15 seconds. From four to five, it was 17 seconds.

The team to keep an eye on is #3 Sycamore who was 23 points behind U-High. Stephen Poorten finally got clearance to race from his doctors after suffering a calf injury. That injury did not show as he finished fourth overall in the race. The pack behind Poorten was impressive as the split from #2 runner Jake Carani and #5 runner freshman runner Jack Cambier was only 15 seconds. Poorten was 57 seconds ahead of the pack. If they can move that pack up 10 to 15 seconds closer to Poorten, look out.

We discovered that #5 Danville is a deep team. Brandon Barfel, who was the team’s #3 runner the week before at Charleston, was their 8^th runner in this meet seven seconds behind the top seven. The Vikings had a 43 second split on their top six led by the 18^th place finish from Michael Moreman.

Riverside-Brookfield was the big mover of the week jumping from #18 to #6 this week after their fourth-place finish in Peoria. Their first four looked strong with only a 32 second split on the group Jacob Wardzala had two of his teammates within eight seconds of him as he finished 17^th overall. Their overall split on five was 74 seconds which is something that they will need to work on. Washington moved up 15 spots to #10 having three runners between 20 and 34 with only an 18 second split. Their overall split of 89 seconds is something that needs to be worked on.

Class 1A

Harvest Christian Academy remains the top 1A team in the state. Their first three runners are so strong with Andrew Dobrescu, Mark Davila, and Matthew Olech all within three seconds of each other and near the front in every race they are in. Their split on five was 51 seconds at the DePaul Prep Invitational. Their top three runners are potential all-state runners. A split like that could get this team another state title. It’s the middle of September but that is the way it looks right now.

Peoria – Elmwood-Brimfield looked good in winning the 1A race in Peoria on Saturday. They did have a presence up front with Cooper Hoffmann and Trevor Dunkel finishing in the top 20. The split on their five scorers was 71 seconds but a split on four was 49 seconds.

Elmwood moved up to #3 but stays behind Athens even though they were ahead of them by 40 points. Athens did not have Wyatt McIntyre who was taking his ACT test. With him running, Athens would have been 40 points ahead of Elmwood like the week before at Canton. There was only 33 seconds separating #1 runner at this meet Noah McIntyre to the rest of the pack. With Wyatt 60 to 70 seconds ahead, it makes Athens a contender for the state championship.